Swiftair

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Swiftair
IATA ICAO Callsign
WT SWT SWIFT
Founded1986
HubsAdolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport
SubsidiariesMediterranean Air Freight / Swiftair Hellas
Fleet size47
Parent companyLusat Air SL
HeadquartersMadrid, Spain
Websitewww.swiftair.com

Swiftair S.A. is an airline whose headquarters are in Madrid, Spain.[1] It operates scheduled and charter, passenger and cargo flights in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Its main base is Madrid–Barajas Airport.

History[edit]

Swiftair's headquarters in Madrid

The airline was founded in 1986.[2] It wholly owns subsidiary Mediterranean Air Freight. Currently Swiftair is also a United Nations contractor for the United Nations Mission in Sudan.[citation needed]

Fleet[edit]

Current fleet[edit]

Swiftair ATR 72-200
Swiftair Boeing 737-300F
Swiftair Boeing 757-200PCF

The Swiftair fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of December 2023):[3]

Swiftair fleet
Aircraft In
service
Orders Notes
ATR 42-300 1
ATR 42-300F 3
ATR 42-300QC 1
ATR 72-200 2
ATR 72-200F 4
ATR 72-200QC 1
ATR 72-500 8 One operating for the United Nations
ATR 72-500F 1
Boeing 737-300SF 1
Boeing 737-400SF 11 4 operating for DHL
Boeing 737-800BDSF 2 1 Operating for DHL
Boeing 737-800SF 1 Operating for DHL
Boeing 737-800BCF 2
Boeing 757-200PCF 2
Boeing 757-200PF 1
Total 47 1

Former fleet[edit]

Swiftair formerly operated the following aircraft:

A Swiftair Embraer EMB 120
Swiftair former fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A300B4F 1 2005 2006 Leased from European Air Transport
Boeing 727-200F 16 1999 2012
Boeing 737-300BDSF 5 2008 2016 One sold to Buffalo Airways in 2022
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner 12 1990 2008 Three sold to Swiftair Hellas
Embraer 120 10 - 2023 Four sold to Swiftair Hellas
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 7 2005 2015
McDonnell Douglas MD-87 1 2009 2010 Operated by the United Nations

Accidents and incidents[edit]

  • In October 1994, one of its aircraft was written off when the crew forgot to lower the landing gear as the plane arrived in Madrid.
  • In May 1995, another aircraft was damaged beyond repair during a botched landing at Vitoria airport in Spain.
  • In 2005 a 727 operating for DHL sustained starboard wing damage due botched landing in Kandahar. It was repaired over the next 2 days and returned to Bahrain
  • In January 2012, a plane sustained substantial damage during a botched landing at Kandahar.
  • On 24 July 2014 a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 operated by the company performed scheduled flight AH5017 from Ouagadougou to Algiers for Algerian airline Air Algérie. The aircraft disappeared off radar 50 minutes after takeoff and crashed in Gossi, Mali, killing all 116 people on board.[4]
  • On 18 January 2016 an Embraer 120 freighter took out runway edge lights during its takeoff roll at Amsterdam Schiphol airport, on a flight to London Stansted. No injuries occurred.
  • On 17 November 2016 a Boeing 737-400, registration EC-MAD, was flying on behalf of EAT Leipzig out of Shannon Airport when the pilots reported shortly after liftoff that they had lost all instrumentation. The crew remained in visual contact with the airport and returned for a safe landing.[5]
  • On 24 September 2022 a Boeing 737-400SF, registration EC-NLS, experienced a runway excursion at Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport, France. After breaking through the barriers, the plane ended its journey in the waters of the Étang de l'Or. There were no injuries among the three crew members. [6]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Contact." Swiftair. Retrieved on 26 January 2011. "Ingeniero Torres Quevedo, 14|Pol. Ind. “Fin de Semana” Crta. Madrid/Barcelona Km. 13.100|28022-Madrid."
  2. ^ "About us." Swiftair. Retrieved on 26 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Swiftair Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  4. ^ "France says Air Algerie pilots had asked to turn back before fatal crash". Herald Globe. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  5. ^ "...in the initial climb out of Shannon's runway 24 when the crew reported they had lost "everything"". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Un Boeing 737 de transport de fret termine son atterrissage dans un étang de l'Hérault". 24 September 2022.

External links[edit]

Media related to Swiftair at Wikimedia Commons